The Finance Minister is a respected economist in her own right.
She previously served as the Managing-Director of the World and
was on the short list to lead the agency, which eventually was
awarded to Jim Yong Kim. She has worked extensively to establish
transparency in Nigeria, particularly in regards to fuel
subsidies received by importers.

The victim’s daughter is not the only one in the family in
politics. Her husband, Obi Chukwuka Okonjo Agbogidi, is
considered the traditional ruler of a region in the oil-rich
Delta State. He and Kamene are both retired professors.

BBC
correspondent Will Ross reports
that “kidnappings are so common in the country that they
rarely make front page news” but an increasing number of
businessmen and academics have been victims, whereas foreign oil
workers had been targeted in the past.

Ikechukwu Aduba, the Police Commissioner in the Delta State, says
that
there is always an insider which helps facilitate every
kidnapping.

Emmanuel Uduaghan, the Governor of Delta State,
guaranteed today that Ms. Okonjo will be rescued within 24
hours.

It is unknown if the kidnapping took place for monetary gain or
political purposes. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala’s battle against corruption
has made her the
target of a litany of death threats.